


Because I can

by Prplzorua



Category: Thomas Sanders
Genre: Angst, Blood, Fluff, Gen, Lord help these guys they're all clueless, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Sickness, Sleep Deprivation, it's me so the usual ;), reaper au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 08:28:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14101413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prplzorua/pseuds/Prplzorua
Summary: An AU where Virgil made a deal with a Reaper to save a his best friend. As part of the deal he needs to collect an amount of souls for a period of time in order for the reaper to save them.In comes Roman, a wandering creature of the Light, confused as to why he always sees this 'Shadow' around people that look sad.When Virgil falls ill to the 'sleep sickness', Roman discovers his secret and decides that it's his duty to follow his mysterious 'Shadow'. Now Virgil has to collect the souls while simultaneously keeping Roman a secret from the Reaper he made the deal with.---There's amazing art too!notallpotatoesarefrenchfries.tumblr.com/post/172435050849/by @notallpotatoesarefrenchfries on tumblrCheck her out on insta: https://www.instagram.com/notallpotatoesarefrenchfries/





	1. The Shadow

 

* * *

**_It was at midday, hot and sterile_**.

Roman was standing next to the Old man when he came in.  
His shadowy entrance was met with choking sound of a final breath.

"Why did you take?" He asked him, his own white robes billowing in contrast.

"Because I can", the other replied with a haughty snicker. Leaving with the sound of beeping in the background.

* * *

 

**_It was at dusk, fogged and chilly_**.

Roman was standing near a forlorn teen. She was perched upon the ledge of a bridge. The dark one appeared on a white puffed exhale.  
"Why do you take?" asked Roman again, his tongue could form no other words.

"Because I have to", replied the other slouching. This time his voice was a forlorn monotone. He left with the sound of a splash echoing.

_The girl was gone too._

* * *

 

**_It was at midnight, silent and ice cold_**.

Roman was standing near a new mother, her child just coming into the world.  
The air was quiet, just like the child the doctors placed in her arms.

The dark one materializes right beside Roman as the scene before him plays in slow motion, this is the closest they've ever been.

Roman observes, the other's form, it's worn and weary.

"Why do you take?" It was only out of pure habit that he asked, a whisper as he turned away from the darker.

He replied after a pause. "Because... it's my job".

The dark one's somber, exhausted tone shocked Romam and he spun around.  
But the other was gone without a sound.

In the all too quiet night, only the wails of the mother echoed; and none of the child.

* * *

 

_It was days, months, years_ after he'd seen the Dark one. Well as close as this atleast. Ever since that night, with the Mother and her stillborn, Roman had only caught glimpses of the other.

But this time... _this time it was different._

He was merely feeding some dear in a forest when a certain shadow appeared in the corner of his eyes.

Had he been anyone else Roman wouldn't follow, but he knew that shadow, so he followed.

It appeared that the Dark one didn't register his presence, not at all, in fact he made his way deeper into the forest without so much as a sound.

That of course, Roman noticed, was usual for the darker but what wasn't was the way his walk began staggering the deeper into the forest he got.

At one point he staggered until he fell, catching himself narrowly by a tree.

Roman was about to run out and help, when another cloaked figure appeared, this one wearing a blessing so dark it almost looked black. **_Almost_**.

The dark blue one did not seem happy to see the one in black. As a matter of fact he was yelling at him and calling, the obviously younger one _"dispicably lazy"._ Roman frowned at that but held his thoughts to himself, those two weren't done yet-

"How many have you even collected, _hmm?_ " The older blue shadow growled, causing shivers to go down both the black shadow and the hidden Roman's spines.

"30,660", whispered the shadow shakily

"What? That's...", the Dark blue one paused, seemingly taken aback by the other's reply. His finger curled under his lip and in the strained silence, the wind picked up a stray leaf, carrying it away from the tense situation. "I take it back, it seems I owe you an apology. You're obviously not as lazy as I first presumed. To have collected that much in such a short span of time means you would've had to have walked both day and night"

Roman bit his lip as he watched the two, their conversation obviously private but he just could not help himself, there were two of these mysterious shadows.

The one of black didn't answer verbally, instead, he hunched, a single nod was his only reply.

"For how long?" Asked the dark blue one.

"Until now" answered the other.

"Until...? It's been three years! By the graces,how are you not ill?! What were you thinking? Rest!"

"What?"

"You heard me, rest. It's a miracle you're even alive, your powers may protect you from the elements but you are not invincible"

The black shadow hunched further in on himself, the elder one sighed and in an odd attempt of comfort, placed a hand on the youth's shoulder.

"I don't want you doing this ever again understand me? Even Reapers need sleep"

The black shadow nodded, the dark blue sighed again. "Your goal was 65,320. You're almost half way there, and in an impressively short amount of time no less. By your second round about you should have more than enough"

"Then will you save him?"

"I gave you my word on the day we met, I'm not one for changing my mind-"

"You just did for me"

"...yes well, rare exceptions. Now rest, it would do you, nor him, any good if you fall ill. You came to me for a break did you not? Then take it and when you're truly rested, then you continue"

"...thank you"

"Don't thank me yet", muttered the dark blue one as he lifted his hand.

Roman, still very much behind the tree, blinked, not at all believing what he was seeing.

The dark one's shadows seem to be pulled into the dark blue one's hand. Disappearing completely as if- as if absorbed.

A small thump caused Roman to look away from the shadows- towards the owner of them in the first place.

The dark one- or should he say the _purple one_? Lay prone on the ground as his shadows completely faded away.

Moving stealthily, Roman headed to sneak a closer look, what he saw shocked him.

**The purple one was human**.

* * *

 

The 'Purple one' groaned and the Dark blue one left on a whisper of blue smoke.

"You can't just leave people powerless on the forest floor Logan", he shouted at no one.

"I wasn't going to but because you called me that name, I will", the elder shadow's voice rang out on an echo.

Roman jumped, seeing no one and yet hearing their disembodied voice was not something he was used to. Unfortunately for him, when he jumped, he ended up stepping on a twig.

The elder shadow was guaranteed to be gone but the Purple one sprung up from his postion on the forest floor.

Eyes locking with Roman's instantly.

_"You! What are you doing here?!"_

* * *

**AN:// y'all know me, expect angst ;)**

**I'm trying out a new writing style, tell me what you think! Should I continue?**

**See y'all in the comments section.**


	2. Dormant

* * *

 

He was so tired.

  
Gods, he was exhausted.  
  
He didn't even bother collecting, far too afraid that if he tried, he'd end up falling on his face.... _again_.  
  
He didn't even know he could get this tired, he hasn't felt this way since- since _before_ he got these shadows.  
  
As a matter of fact, he didn't need to sleep or eat or anything since that night, but now-  
  
_Now he was trying to navigate through a forest_. The odd exhaustion had started the day before, one moment he was collecting a soul and then the next, the world had suddenly tilted sideways.   
  
The soul was from a rich Old lady, whose time was finally up. Collecting had been easy and he had felt fine- _ok, maybe a headache or a migraine or two, but nothing he couldn't deal with_ \- it was the moment after the collection that it happened. A bone deep exhaustion had suddenly over-took him the moment he tried to take his leave.   
  
Thankfully when he teleported away from her room, he landed on the balcony and not the edge of the cliff she lived on for some reason.  
  
Of course, anyone else would have called it a day feeling the way he felt, but he was stubborn. There was only one soul left for the day after all, he could handle that...right?  


 

* * *

  
  
Gods was he wrong.  
  
The last soul, a child with leukaemia, this collection didn't go as planned. It didn't go wrong just... _not as planned.  
_  
The mother of the boy was there, on her knees clasping his weak hand and pressing her forehead against it. She wasn't bawling, but whispering something as tears streamed down her face.  
  
He could only assume that she was praying for someone, something, _anything_ to save her child- that is until he got closer.  
  
"Just please, please take his pain away. Don't let him suffer anymore. Take him, take him if it means he'll be free!"  
  
Of all his three years of being a Reaper, not once had he heard a mother wish her child death in order for them to be free. Usually it was for them to somehow make it alive. The child would be in tremendous pain of course, but alive. This mother didn't want her child to suffer at all.  
  
Something he could relate to, he always thought it was easy to remove souls from the sick and elderly because it ended their suffering, he didn't like to see people suffer.  
  
The mother continued her pleas, but he was no longer listening, he had a job to do and if that counted as a wish fulfilment to the crying woman, well that was his good deed for the year.  
  
He stepped closer to the boy but the same thing as before happened again. The bone deep exhaustion practically seeped into his very being. Wincing he forced himself to remain up right, just barely managing to not stagger back or collapse. He hissed softly as his head spun but successfully quelled the nausea to focus on the task at hand.  
  
A gasp from his side caused him to flinch, he turned only to find the once crying mother staring up at him with wide eyes.

 

* * *

  
  
He expected her to scream or plead for her child's life, say she didn't mean for him to truly be taken, but instead she blinked. Looking towards her son and then back at him before standing up, placing a kiss on the boy's forehead, stepping back and letting the child's hand go.  
  
He was quite surprised at the action but when she silently nodded at him, he understood. He gave a small nod back in reply and walked towards the child. He ever only had one person watch as he collected and he hoped that his shadows masked the shaking of his shoulders.  
  
There were two ways to collect a soul, with a scythe or an extended hand. He knew how to do both, his scythe was positioned in his left hand, ready for use but he didn't need to use it. Not here at least.   
  
Instead he held out his right hand, palm up and shadow covered fingers straight, after a second he curled them. When the 'come hither' motion was complete, a blue orb of light lifted out of the child's chest and landed in his hand.  
  
He turned to the mother, orb cradled carefully in his palm, she took a step closer and he grew nervous. Humans we're not supposed to see Reapers but a few could, he would know, he was one of them after all.

 

The mother didn't move any closer, something he was grateful for, instead she gazed upon the orb and sadly whispered to it. "Bye baby, say hi to _Mamia_ for me ok?"  
  
Strangely enough, the orb then began to pulse in the Reaper's hand before disappearing. Something he himself had seen happen many times before, but this time it was different. Ignoring the breech of usual procedure- because that was all he could do and he had bigger problems to deal with at the moment- he faced the mother again, this time she was looking directly at him.  
  
"Thank you", her voice cracked and her eyes watered over but she gave him a smile. A shaky one but a smile nonetheless.  
  
He gave her a nod and teleported away.  


 

* * *

  
  
He appeared in an empty park, heart pounding beneath his shadows.   
  
The interaction was odd, he had never expected to be seen but what was worse was the almost cold exhaustion that was following him around. He managed to ignore it for the most part but now his hands were shaking, so much so his scythe rattled.  
  
There was something wrong.  
  
Choking back the panic he was feeling he recalled something Logan had told him after his initial days of training.  
  
****_"You can come to me of you need a break"  
_  
A break, yeah, that's what he needed. A break to figure out what was going on. And probably some permission to take a nap? Gods he was exhausted.  
  
He teleported once more, to the forest Logan considered his domain.   
  
Unfortunately for him he didn't pop straight into the elder's office, he ended up a small distance away. Fortunately, all he had to do was go straight.  
  
Groaning internally, he trudged forward, each step felt like a weight was being placed upon him. He staggered a few times, mumbling curses under his breath but kept moving.

 

* * *

  
  
After a few minutes, his vision had begun to swim, thankfully he could still sense where he was going, even with his eyes closing on him every few seconds. Pros and Cons of the shadows he supposed.  
  
Somewhere during the movement from one tree to the next, he recalled the rest of his mentor's words and they rang coldly in his ear.  
  
****_"You can come to me if you need a break, but this isn't an offer to take lightly. I am under no circumstance obliged to do so. I don't want to see you here early"  
  
__Shit, was three years too early?  
  
_ His own thoughts betrayed him and he stumbled to his knees, thankfully not too far from the entrance. Logan would find him-  
  
"Virgil!"  
  
Speak of the devil.  
  
However, the Dark blue Reaper did not seem happy to see him, _damn_ , maybe three years was too early.  


 

* * *

  
  
"Honestly, did you not listen to what I had told you? Do you even care about this deal? How could you be so despicably lazy?!"  
  
Virgil bowed his head, his mentor was obviously right, he was given ten years max-  
  
"How many have you even collected, hmm?" Logan's voice dropped into a growl, causing shivers to go down the younger Reaper's spine.  
  
"30,660", he whispered shakily. He hated being yelled at, it always made him more anxious.  
  
"What? That's...” the elder Reaper paused, looking at Virgil wide eyed and confused as he didn't believe that was possible.  
  
The elder Reaper frowned, lifting a finger and curling it under his lip. A motion Virgil learned that he used whenever he was in deep thought.  
  
After a moment of silence he spoke again.   
  
"I take it back, it seems I owe you an apology. You're obviously not as lazy as I first presumed. To have collected that much in such a short span of time means you would've had to have walked both day and night"  
  
  
Virgil didn't answer verbally, his head was pounding and his body ached, haunching, he gave his mentor single nod as reply.  
  
"For how long?" Logan's voice was softer now, sorry and concerned.  
  
"Until now", he grit out.  
  
"Until...? It's been three years! By the graces, how are you not ill?! What were you thinking? Rest!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me, rest. It's a miracle you're even alive, your powers may protect you from the elements but you are not invincible"  
  
Virgil hunched further in on himself, the pounding in his head increasing. Logan ran a gentle hand across his face, a move that was so quick and light it could have easily been missed in the blink of an eye.   
"At least the **_żyłkacień_** haven't set in", whispered Logan sighing. Virgil had no idea what he was talking about but he was too tired and in too much pain to pay much attention to it.   
  
As if seeing this, his mentor, in an odd attempt of comfort, placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want you doing this ever again understand me?"  
  
Virgil gave one more pained nod and Logan sighed again. "Your goal was 65,320. You're almost half way there, and in an impressively short amount of time no less. By your second round about you should have more than enough"  
  
The number flashed in Virgil's mind, it had been haunting him for the past three years. He did not miss the significance of his mentor's statement, he was close to the end goal, close to fulfilling the deal.  
  
"Then will you save him?” the words tumbled out of his mouth without warning. Thankfully not demanding but still much too soft and hurt for his liking.  
  
"I gave you my word on the day we met, I'm not one for changing my mind-"  
  
Virgil narrowed his eyes, "you just did for me"    
  
  
"...yes well, rare exceptions", the younger Reaper would have laughed, if he could, at the way Logan paled. He did, however manage a smirk, which received an eye-roll from his mentor.  
  
"Now rest", continued the elder, "it would do you, nor him, any good if you fall ill. You came to me for a break did you not? Then take it and when you're truly rested, then you continue"  
  
Virgil, closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, he was so tired. "...thank you"  
  
"Don't thank me yet", muttered Logan as he lifted his hand. "I have to place them in dormancy"  
  
"ok...” whispered the younger Reaper.  
  
He honestly didn't know what exactly his mentor meant but he figured it would have to do with his shadows. He didn't bother opening his eyes, they were too heavy anyway. He trusted that Logan would be able to fix whatever was wrong with him.

 

* * *

  
  
There was a pull... _pulling_ , something was pulling him backwards? He peeled his eyes open to see his shadows being absorbed into his mentor's hand. _Is this what he meant by dormancy?  
  
_  
Virgil didn't have time to further question it because his mind suddenly went blank, and he drifted into a haze, where for a moment, _nothing_ mattered. As the pulling became stronger, the heavy weight of his exhaustion and the pounding in his head had started lifting. His vision however, started to spin rapidly and so did his surroundings.   
  
Strangely enough, he wasn't dizzy, the sky was just moving fast in a circle, as were the trees, all in a circle. The blue mixed with the greens and the browns, he knew the blue was from the sky and the green from the trees but he had no clue where the brown came from-  
  
_Until_ the ground came up to meet his face.

 

He lay there shocked for a second. His brain trying to process what had just occurred.   
  
He...fell?  
  
He fell and he was on the ground now...  
Maybe he should get off the ground?  
But it felt nice...  
  
His eyes gazed at some of the shifting shadows above him, they were disappearing into Logan's hand.  
  
He watched them go and as they faded _...his eyes...slowly...closed.  
_

 

* * *

  
  
**_"...wake..."  
_**

  
Virgil's eyes snapped open.  
  
He blinked, wondering what exactly got him on the forest floor. His memories then came rushing back to him rather quickly and he groaned in embarrassment. Blacking out was one thing, bit blacking out in front of your Mentor was another.  
  
He looked up to see a smirking Logan. Pouting slightly, he watched as the Dark blue Reaper then snapped his fingers and vanished. Leaving but a mere trace of his shadow behind.

  
  
Virgil blinked again, only just taking in the fact that his Mentor left him on the ground.

  
  
"You can't just leave people powerless on the forest floor Logan", he shouted at no one.  
  
"I wasn't going to but because you called me that name, I will", the elder Reaper's voice rang out on an echo of laughter.  
  
Virgil chuckled to himself, his Mentor always hated when he called him that name. He didn't see the big deal, it wasn't his fault that he could only pronounce that part of the guy’s name.

 

* * *

 

  
The now dormant Reaper contemplated on whether he should just stay on the ground until Logan felt sorry for him or get up and go to his apartment. The little area was frozen in time and shadow, so it should be quiet enough to sleep... _but did he really want to risk being so close to him and not being able to see him?  
  
_ He wasn't supposed to see him until he finished collecting all 65,320 souls and if he did, the deal was off. _What if he accidentally checked on him and then he disappeared forever?_ No, he couldn't risk that.  
  
_Maybe he could sleep under a tree in that one meadow he saw?_ It was quiet there too, it had a little pond, a huge shady oak tree and everything...but it was far and teleportation might mean instant unconsciousness. _Huh, guess he was going to wait for Logan after all._  
  
He settled himself for a nap right where he lay. No one in their right mind would disturb him, he was in his Mentor's domain after all. Besides, the elder Reaper would probably be back in a few minutes, likely just doing some paperwork or simply peeved at him from using his nickname.  
  
He let his eyes droop, he was tired enough to just drift off instantly if he tried but the moment he closed his eyes, **he heard a twig snap.**  
  
His eyes snapped open and he sprung up from his position, scanning for the source of the disturbance.  
  
His eyes locked with a familiar lightbeam's instantly.  
  
"You! What are you doing here?!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
